It appears your elusive queen had other ideas. You might have brushed her
into the air when hiving the swarm off the sign.
The simplest thing is just to spray the bees with light(very) syrup/water
which keeps them busy for 5-10 minutes.
Next time? If you have a piece of queen excluder - cut it to fit your
nuc/swarm box. If the queen can't leave the swarm stays and you have
absolute control (vs. the bees). You can also use queen excluders this way
UNDER any hard-start swarms/packages (hard start = no brood/some or all
undrawn foundation/lots of syrup).
Or bring out a nuc with a frame of brood but it may easily chill in colder
areas.
Matthew Westall - E-Bees - Castle Rock, CO - USA
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
-- Visit www.honeybeeworld.com/BEE-L for rules, FAQ and other info ---
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::